Fighting crime using technology

Criminals like jack Sheppard of the 1700s were really easy to arrest that is why he was caught after each escape. Were these arrests straightforward as a result of the local department's impeccable talent or was it because of the comparatively low population at the time?

In today's world, crime has had a lot of socio-economic impacts on the government and the populace in general despite the acclaimed potency of the police. There are lots of criminals globally that flee with crimes because there are no adequate measures to find them. Therefore, it's safe to mention that crime is speedily on the rise.

Similarly, though technological advancement is increasing rather aggressively that has led to an improvement in communication, health systems, economy and security. New ways of catching criminals were discovered early within the nineteenth century, and they include fingerprint detection procedures and DNA testing. Later in the 90s, police were seen to wear body cameras that resulted in a whopping 19% fewer complaints from the public, I mean, Who would argue with the camera right?

We've conjointly seen cameras mounted on highways that captured number plates and could detect violations of traffic rules. However, route cameras are not enough to deal with the assorted styles of crime like violent crime, property crime, white-collar crime, public order crime, organized crime, and cybercrime. Just a few days ago, eight people were reportedly shot dead in a spa in Atlanta. Nipping the shooter in the bud before the crime was committed would have been in the interest of everyone.

You'll need more than a camera to analyze deceitful acts by the thieving accountants in a multimillion-dollar company. You most certainly have to catch suspects before DNA and fingerprints will be investigated. This is where the novel technological advancements of this age come into play.

What technologies are available to fight crimes?

Things get a lot juicier for enforcement agents with new technologies. There is no need to be compelled to antagonize new advancements in technology as they assist enforcement agencies to fulfill the demand of the public in fighting crime.

Ms. Rowland who got robbed of five million dollars through unauthorized transactions wouldn't care if it were officer Bryan or an app that found the criminal. She simply needs justice and a reimbursement. The following notably glorious advancements have considerably helped to fight and cut back crime in recent times and will continue to do so in the nearest future.

1. Social media
   Recently, a case of a missing girl named Sarah Everard was published on the Facebook page of the London metropolitan police service asking for information on her whereabouts. This gave the public an opportunity to help in the investigation. What better to effectively communicate and fight crime? The criminal who killed Sarah, sadly, was a policeman. However, that is a topic for another day.
2. Tracking of mobile phones
   How cool will it be to know where a suspect was before and after a crime through his/her phone? Amazing yeah? Although this hasn't been legalized, it's a promising channel for mitigating crime.
3. Surveillance
   Prisons are filled up, and there is an increasing number of criminals who are out on the streets that are yet to be arrested. Surveillance helps to keep an eye fixed on non-violent criminals on rehabilitation and conjointly helps within the investigation of the crime through video clips of cameras found around the crime scene.
4. Biometrics
   Have you unlocked your phone with your finger or face? Well, that is biometry, and it has the potential to search out and determine past criminals without stress.

These are only a few of the many novel technologies that have the power to combat modern-day crime that include but aren't restricted to; terrorist acts, human trafficking and theft through technologies like, automatic number plate recognition, body-worn cameras, robots, drones, information mapping and thermal imaging.

These promising technologies are proof that the planet might be crime-free in the future. Why the term crime-free you may ask? Picture this. A murder scene in a restaurant restroom is reported thankfully, a surveillance camera is used to identify people that were at the restaurant at the time of the murder, biometrics are taken to match those on her body and a match was gotten. Easy-peasy yeah? Well, not to get too technical, that's basically the same principle with other advanced technologies listed above.

Why is Technology so Important in Fighting crime?

So, I've been going on and on about technology and how it can fight crime, but the big question is why is it needed? In Nigeria, a terrorist group has taken over an entire geographical area but is still "invisible” to law enforcement agencies. Many have lost their lives trying to find this set of individuals using the wrong approach. The right technology will bring these criminals to justice in a matter of weeks.

Many internet fraudsters have been caught with the help of technology. It won't be a surprise that in the near future we may have a world without crime, people will be totally safe to tour every continent without fear.

The Future of technology In Fighting Crime

Chief Jim Davis, retired police said “if we were 10 to 20 years behind in technology it really didn’t matter that much. But now, if you are 10 to 20 days behind in your technology the bad guys are getting way ahead of you.” emphasizing the need for law enforcement agents to keep learning new and better ways to serve their communities.

It is equally important for scientists to find innovative ways to address crimes both now and in the future. Major cities are more at the risk of terrorism and crime which makes it necessary to protect lives and property through crime prediction systems that can detect crime before it happens. There are, however, a few cons to these advancements such as privacy concerns from the public, inaccurate results that could lead to imprisonment of the wrong suspects because let's be honest, these technologies are not fail-proof. Hence, the need to harness both technology and human effort to bring crime to a dazzling end and bring every fugitive to justice.